Manager - Sales Development

About Us

Sophos is a global leader and innovator of advanced security solutions that defeat cyberattacks, including Managed Detection and Response (MDR) and incident response services and a broad portfolio of endpoint, network, email, and cloud security technologies. As one of the largest pure-play cybersecurity providers, Sophos defends more than 600,000 organizations and more than 100 million users worldwide from active adversaries, ransomware, phishing, malware, and more. Sophos’ services and products connect through the Sophos Central management console and are powered by Sophos X-Ops, the company’s cross-domain threat intelligence unit. Sophos X-Ops intelligence optimizes the entire Sophos Adaptive Cybersecurity Ecosystem, which includes a centralized data lake that leverages a rich set of open APIs available to customers, partners, developers, and other cybersecurity and information technology vendors. Sophos provides cybersecurity-as-a-service to organizations needing fully managed security solutions. Customers can also manage their cybersecurity directly with Sophos’ security operations platform or use a hybrid approach by supplementing their in-house teams with Sophos’ services, including threat hunting and remediation. Sophos sells through reseller partners and managed service providers (MSPs) worldwide. Sophos is headquartered in Oxford, U.K. More information is available at www.sophos.com.

Role Summary

The Sales Development Manager is responsible for the management and performance of all of Sophos’ Sales Development Representatives across EMEA. This includes directly line managing 8 SDRs on permanent contracts (located across 4 countries) and 5 mid term contractors based in the UK office. It also requires overseeing the onboarding, development and performance standards of contractors based at and managed by a small number of third party agencies.

Key to this role is the ability to develop new sales skills and thinking across the team, oversee change programmes and build strong partnerships with other leaders in Sales, Marketing, Operations Team and the wider global SDR community.

It will also require assisting the EMEA SDR Director to drive innovation, bring a new strategic focus to the function and increase the quality and productivity of the work performed by the EMEA SDR Team.

The aim of this role is to build and manage a team of highly adaptable, energised and productive SDRs, capable of consistently delivering a high volume of quality sales opportunities for the Sophos Sales teams and its Channel Partners to successfully progress to order. It is also to increase the levels of communication with senior stakeholders and, through working with them, create new synergies, stronger working practices, and new levels of value for those on both the Sales and Marketing sides of the SDR team.

They must also take responsibility for integrating the team into the wider Sales & Marketing communities, increasing collaboration across the EMEA SDR function, and delivering continued improvement at both a team and individual level. Within this, their skills, past experience and appetite to provide ongoing and frequent coaching will be essential.

With ambitious plans to innovate and redefine how the EMEA SDR team is seen, performs and defines its success. The job holder must be unafraid of change, able to build a collective purpose and passionately believe in the importance of Sales Development as a key driver of business growth.

This is a hybrid role and requires office attendance in Manchester (3 days per week).

What You Will Do:

• Team Management; Is accountable for the performance and results of the team. Monitors, tracks and reports on KPIs. Performs regular team meetings and 1-1s. Promotes success, but also addresses underperformance. Uses all of this, in combination, to ensure team targets are consistently hit
• Team Development; Sets performance standards and quarterly targets for the team. Develops new skills and awareness, unlocks potential, establishes a growth mindset, enables progression, and delivers, as part of a wider coaching culture, regular coaching sessions
• Peer Engagement; Engages positively with Sales and Marketing leaders across EMEA at all levels. Invites their feedback and shapes their thinking to improve the performance and financial contribution of the SDR team. Presents regular performance updates, new ideas and future plans as part of the ongoing Sales and Marketing Management meeting cycles. Able to learn from, raise debate with and positively influence and challenge the way this group views and works with the SDR team.
• Sales Methods and Mindset; Builds a sales mentality and methodology throughout. Readies team members for Sales roles. Works with enablement team to design and deliver training programmes that are fit for a modern, progressive and future facing SDR team
• Maintains Motivation; Sustains energy and purpose across the team through positive leadership, spotting and celebrating good performance, setting meaningful goals, maintaining a strong supportive presence, and providing attractive incentives
• Collaborates; Works in tandem with the EMEA SDR Director to enable and create more time for strategic development of the SDR function. Forms partnerships with colleagues in Marketing and Sales to ensure campaigns are successful (ROI targets are hit), hand offs are seamless (Sales Acceptance Rates are high), and the team is tangibly helping drive revenue growth (high Closed Won rates are sustained). Builds close and productive working relationships with others across the Global SDR Leadership team. Communicates frequently with own team and establishes a strong team ethos across the group.
• Enable Innovation; To achieve higher standards, new levels of success and greater collaboration, is willing to experiment, benchmark and take risks. Is unafraid to break with traditional models of acting and thinking. Regularly creates, shares and, after getting buy in, implements own ideas for improvement
• Facilitate Onboarding; Successfully recruits high caliber and high potential candidates. Helps design and arrange extended induction programs that enable new recruits to quickly add value in their Sophos careers
• Inspire Success; Leads from the front, brings energy, maintains credibility, ensures professionalism and gets people to see new possibilities

What You Will Bring:

• Candidate has had management experience. Or, coupled with a first hand experience of Sophos, an exceptionally strong appetite to work as a leader in a commercial role
• 3 or more years experience within a sales environment.
• Successful track record in delivering targets 
• Has collaborated with, influenced and achieved productive working relationships with Senior Stakeholders 
• Defined, measured, interpreted and presented performance goals
• Has successfully overseen change projects 
• Has used coaching to drive positive change and realise potential in others
• Used to managing mixed priorities and activities
• Lead, create purpose, maintain motivation
• Manage/maximise performance and results
• Collaboration
• Recruit, develop and retain talent
• Communication – individual, team and stakeholder
• Emotional intelligence
• Uses data to inform decision making
• Prioritise, delegate and empower
• Adapt, innovate, create
• Define and raise standards of performance

#M3

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Ready to Join Us?

At Sophos, we believe in the power of diverse perspectives to fuel innovation. Research shows that candidates sometimes hesitate to apply if they don't check every box in a job description. We challenge that notion. Your unique experiences and skills might be exactly what we need to enhance our team. Don't let a checklist hold you back – we encourage you to apply.

What's Great About Sophos?

· Sophos operates a remote-first working model, making remote work the primary option for most employees. However, some roles may necessitate a hybrid approach. Please refer to the location details in our job postings for further information.

· Our people – we innovate and create, all of which are accompanied by a great sense of fun and team spirit

· Employee-led diversity and inclusion networks that build community and provide education and advocacy

· Annual charity and fundraising initiatives and volunteer days for employees to support local communities

· Global employee sustainability initiatives to reduce our environmental footprint

· Global fitness and trivia competitions to keep our bodies and minds sharp

· Global wellbeing days for employees to relax and recharge 

· Monthly wellbeing webinars and training to support employee health and wellbeing

Our Commitment To You

We’re proud of the diverse and inclusive environment we have at Sophos, and we’re committed to ensuring equality of opportunity. We believe that diversity, combined with excellence, builds a better Sophos, so we encourage applicants who can contribute to the diversity of our team. All applicants will be treated in a fair and equal manner and in accordance with the law regardless of gender, sex, gender reassignment, marital status, race, religion or belief, color, age, military veteran status, disability, pregnancy, maternity or sexual orientation. We want to give you every opportunity to show us your best self, so if there are any adjustments we could make to the recruitment and selection process to support you, please let us know. 

Data Protection

If you choose to explore an opportunity, and subsequently share your CV or other personal details with Sophos, these details will be held by Sophos for 12 months in accordance with our Privacy Policy and used by our recruitment team to contact you regarding this or other relevant opportunities at Sophos. If you would like Sophos to delete or update your details at any time, please follow the steps set out in the Privacy Policy describing your individual rights. If you have any questions about Sophos’ data protection practices, please contact [email protected].